Sick Time Policy

Accrual of Paid Sick Time

Staff employees accrue paid sick time over 26 pay periods as follows:

• Full-time employees who are regularly scheduled to work 35 hours per week accrue up to 84 hours annually and may accumulate up to a maximum of 910 hours.  Sick time begins to accrue on the employee’s first day of employment.
• Full-time employees who are regularly scheduled to work 40 hours per week accrue up to 96 hours annually and may accumulate up to a maximum of 1040 hours.  Sick time begins to accrue on the employee’s first day of employment.
• Part-time employees (those who are regularly scheduled to work at least 17 ½ hours per week and less than 35 hours per week) will accrue sick time on a pro-rata basis based on their regular schedule.  Regardless of their schedule, part-time employees accrue at least one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours they work. Sick time begins to accrue on the employee’s first day of employment.
• Less than half-time employees (those who are regularly scheduled to work less than 17.5 hours per week), seasonal employees, and temporary employees who are employed directly by Bentley will accrue one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours they work, up to a maximum of 40 hours per year.  Accruals start on the employee’s first day of employment and can be used starting 90 days after the employee’s first day of employment.  Less than half-time employees will stop accruing sick time once they have accumulated 40 hours. Employees may roll over up to 40 hours each fiscal year. Seasonal and temporary employees can retain unused time in accordance with the Break in Service provision below.  Less than half-time employees, seasonal employees and temporary employees can only use a maximum of 40 hours of paid sick time each fiscal year.

Employees will be allowed to go into arrears by 35 or 40 hours depending on their weekly schedule. 

Accrued, unused sick time will not be paid upon termination.

Union employees will accrue sick time in accordance with the applicable provisions of their collective bargaining agreement.  

Use of Paid Sick Time

Staff employees may use paid sick time for the following reasons:

• Care for the employee’s child, spouse, sibling, parent, or parent of a spouse, or a permanent member of the employee’s household who is suffering from a physical or mental illness, injury, or medical condition that requires home care, professional diagnosis or care, or preventative care;
• Care for the employee’s own physical or mental illness, injury, or medical condition that requires home care, professional diagnosis or care, or preventative care;
• Address the employee’s own physical and mental health needs, and those of their spouse, if the employee or the employee’s spouse experiences pregnancy loss or a failed assisted reproduction, adoption or surrogacy.
• Attend a routine medical appointment for the employee, or the employee’s child, spouse, sibling, parent or parent of a spouse, or a permanent member of the employee’s household;
• Address the psychological, physical or legal effects of domestic violence; or
• Travel to and from an appointment, a pharmacy, or other location related to the purpose for which the time was taken.

Employees should try to schedule medical appointments during non-work hours.  If an appointment must be scheduled during work hours, employees should try to minimize any disruption to their work schedule. 

Employees will not be capped at 40 hours of sick time to care for a sick family member. 

Non-exempt staff employees can use sick time in one-hour increments. Exempt staff employees who are absent for 4 or more hours in a workday, but less than a whole day, must record 4 hours.  Exempt employees who take off less than four hours are expected to make up their work in a timely manner.

All employees must record use of sick time in Web Time Entry via “Workday” and must be approved by managers. Failure to record sick time as described above may result in discipline up to and including termination.

Notice and Documentation

Employees should notify their supervisor as soon as they are aware of the need to use sick time.  If an employee will not be in at the start of the work day due to the need for sick time, the employee should so notify his/her supervisor no later than the start of the employee’s scheduled work day. Individual supervisors may have different requirements regarding notice (e.g., email, phone messages, direct communications, etc.)  If the need to use sick time is foreseeable or pre-scheduled, employees should give their supervisor as much advance notice as possible.

The University reserves the right to request medical documentation for an employee’s use of earned sick time that: 

• Equates to or exceeds three consecutive days on which the employee was scheduled to work;
• Occurs within two weeks prior to an employee’s final scheduled day of work before termination of employment, except in cases of temporary employees;
• Occurs after four unforeseeable and undocumented absences within a three-month period; or
• Reflects a pattern of excessive or inappropriate use of sick time (e.g., a pattern of absences on Mondays and/or Fridays or immediately before or after holidays or vacations, etc.)

The written documentation should indicate the need for sick time (but never the medical reason) and be signed by a health care provider.  If an employee does not have health insurance, the employee should contact the department’s HR Business Partner regarding acceptable documentation.  If an employee needs to use sick time due to domestic violence, he or she should contact the HR Business Partner regarding acceptable documentation.  Documentation must be submitted within seven days after the use of sick time, absent a good reason for a longer period.  If an employee fails to provide acceptable documentation within seven days, any paid sick time may have to be repaid through future paychecks, or the employee may not be paid for an equivalent number of sick days in the future.

After an employee has been absent for more than five consecutive work days due to their own or a family member’s medical needs as described above, the employee and/or the employee’s supervisor must notify the department’s HR Business Partner.  In those cases, the employee may be required to provide medical documentation and may be formally placed on a FMLA leave or a personal medical leave if the FMLA does not apply.

The University reserves the right to request a Fitness for Work certificate from a medical provider before an employee can return to work following the employee’s absence due to his or her own medical condition.  

Breaks in Service

Employees who have a break in service of up to four months will retain the right to use any unused earned sick time accrued before the break in service.

After a break in service of more than four months and less than 12 months, employees will retain the right to use any unused earned sick time accrued before the break if they have accrued 10 or more hours of sick time.

After a break in service of more than 12 months, employees do not retain the right to use any unused earned sick time accrued before the break.  However, less than half-time employees, seasonal employees, and temporary employees who are employed directly by Bentley do not need to restart the 90-day vesting period; they will start to accrue when they start working again.

Employees who are on an approved leave of absence or who are not actively working because they are on a 9-, 10- or 11-month schedule will not be considered to have a break in service for purposes of this policy.

Additional information

For more detailed information regarding FMLA Leave and other Leaves, please refer to the Leave of Absence Policy. For more specific information on Massachusetts’ Earned Sick Time Law, please refer to the Employee Rights Notice or contact your Human Resources Business Partner.

Date last revised:  November 2024